The title of today’s post is misleading, as I’m currently writing it in Columbia, instead of in Durham (and I do hope the house is still standing, given that I haven’t seen it for a few days).
As it turned out, Hurricane Joaquin did not hit directly, but it, combined with an assortment of other weather factors, formed a storm more potent than any recorded in SC history (at least 125 years, in fact). Which led to things like this greeting us on Sunday morning:
A small problem, as that is the road that I normally take to get back from SC to Durham. But! Not quite as bad as it could be, as I don’t have to take that part of the road. So I turned right and headed off to my usual route. Until I came across a bunch of traffic bollards. Ha! I had the power of the iPhone! I would not be stopped! Until the alternate route was blocked off in the same manner. Then I got confused, drove aimlessly across a rather scary bridge (well, the bridge itself was not quite as scary as the fact that the water level either side of the bridge was getting rather close to the road), encountered a third blockade, and finally got a text saying that all the interstates and highways around Columbia were being closed.
At that point, I admitted defeat in my attempt to get to I-77 and headed back to Tammy and Robert’s.
(the annoying thing is that if I had just made it to I-77, I would have been fine. North is drier ground!)
time passes
Well, somebody didn’t hit ‘publish’ last night. I’m now back in Durham, under the dazzle blanket and reading about ALL THE BRUTALIST THINGS. It was touch and go for a bit, but we scouted the area this morning and found two entrances to I-77 open. As predicted, once I managed to hit the Interstate, things got a lot easier, but still quite tired after getting back into Durham tonight. Thankfully, the training session I was supposed to lead today got rescheduled for Wednesday, so I can ease back into things. Meanwhile, as ever, a big thank-you to Tammy and Robert for putting me up for another night, and I hope everybody in Columbia stays safe!